Go inside — and bowl with Brad and Angelina — at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

It’s both the Boulevard of Broken Dreams and the Street that Hosts the Oscars, a stretch of touristy Hollywood where Jean Harlow’s star meets the tread of Toledo moms’ Skechers Shape-ups. It’s also home to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel — named for President Theodore and the oldest continually operating hotel in Los Angeles.

The Roosevelt, freshly renovated with $15 million in newly installed pizzazz and now a part of Thompson Hotels, is one of those storied LA spots where guests can soak up dead-celeb lore in the presence of a Kardashian or two.

FACTS: The 12-story Spanish colonial hotel opened in 1927 and features 320 rooms, 38 suites and 60 poolside cabanas spread between the original Tower building and overlooking the David Hockney-muraled pool. A 250-square-foot room with queen bed starts at $269. For nights when you might bring home a gold statuette, $3,000 will book the two-story, 3,800-square-foot Gable-Lombard penthouse, named for Clark and Carole, who used to hook up there. Cheaper, but still name-brand: The 750-square-foot, $800 Marilyn Monroe suite.

Monroe is one of two former long-term guests said to haunt the Roosevelt. Visitors have reported seeing her face in one of her own mirrors, now hanging next to an elevator on the 10{+t}{+h} floor. Troubled actor Montgomery Clift, always up for a drink while staying here during filming of From Here to Eternity, is said to still be making a mess in Suite 928.

GIFTS WITH PURCHASE: You’re paying for access. This is one of those clubby hotels where you’re likely to pass a line of waiting Nobodys as you stumble in or out any of the seven places to have a drink. Safely inside as a temporary Somebody, you might see Brangelina at the Library Bar or just-opened bar-bowling alley, Spare Room. (Texas tie: The lanes were sourced from Tulia.) Or sit poolside with Jake Gyllenhaal at Tropicana Bar 60, where Ms. Monroe once posed on the diving board for Tan-Tan suntan lotion.

Getting into Beacher’s Madhouse requires stepping through a secret bookshelf door and into the new bar’s vaudeville vibe, complete with proscenium stage and costume-clad little people. Teddy’s, a former Lindsay Lohan haunt, is a clubby, bottle-service boite. Order dinner at Public Kitchen & Bar or 25 Degrees, or have the concierge send up hot dogs from Pink’s in down-the-road West Hollywood, or provide entree to gossip-column stalwarts such as Katsuya sushi.

’HOOD: This is Hollywood Boulevard. Grauman’s Theater, Mann’s Chinese Theater and the Kodak Theatre — where the Academy Awards and American Idol finales historically take place — are all nearby. While Us Weekly celebs might be drinking at the hotel, grab an old-school cocktail down the street at classic steakhouse Musso & Frank Grill (6667 Hollywood Blvd., 323-467-7788, mussoandfrankgrill.com). Ask for a Picon Punch from the veteran, scarlet-jacketed bartenders — the most recent started in 1989. The bitter orange drink was Bing Crosby’s fave. Hollywood Boulevard has a bit of a Times Square vibe, with tourist trinkets galore, and major retailers from H&M to Zara providing flagship shopping experiences.

Hollywood

Roosevelt Hotel

7000 Hollywood Blvd.,

Los Angeles, 323-466-7000,

hollywoodroosevelt.com

Meanwhile, downtown …

Los Angeles’ city center is getting some resurgent mojo these days, with many restaurants, shops and museums joining the sports (Lakers, Clippers, Kings) and entertainment (Grammys, Emmys, ESPYs ) offerings. (More sports to come: A 75,000- seat football stadium is set to open in 2015.) Right in the middle of it all, adjacent to the Historic Core neighborhood, is the $2.5 billion LA Live complex, with apartments, bars, theaters and restaurants. The gleaming candelabra is a 54-story tower containing a JW Marriott hotel and — on floors 22 through 52 — a Ritz-Carlton hotel and residences. With just four floors containing RC guest rooms, it’s basically a boutique hotel (with exclusive elevator and private lobby) within a skyscraper. Each of the 123 rooms — rates start at $299 and climb to $7,500 for a mega-grand 3,000-square-foot one-bedroom suite — has an oversized tub, rain shower, espresso machine and sweeping views of downtown. On the dining front, WP24 Restaurant & Lounge by Wolfgang Puck is the latest in the chef’s franchise, offering modern Chinese cuisine by chef Sara Johannes, most recently of Dallas’ Five Sixty.

Bonus for shopping-inclined guests: The hotel offers personal shopping packages exclusively with StyleChic. This being the RC, the day of shopping comes with car service, Champagne, “celebrity discounts” and access to retailers both big time (Barneys New York) and indie (an appointment-only high-end jeweler hidden behind a paparazzi-proof garden wall).

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